SOLVED. YA Science fiction about a boy on a beach who becomes inhabited by an intergalactic detective/policeman on the hunt for an escaped alien criminal. [s]

[Jacqueline]

I read this book in the '50ies. It's about a boy on a beach who becomes inhabited by an intergalactic detective/policeman on the hunt for an escaped alien criminal. This detective is able to absorb itself into the boy's body, learn his language and Earth's customs and then communicate with the boy. Together, they search for and find the the criminal. Could it be a novel by A.E. van Vogt? I've been searching for this book for many years. Can anyone help? Thanks so much!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Oh wow--this one is ssoooo easy. Needle by Hal Clement. There is a follow up book to it called Through the Eye of a Needle.

[Jacqueline]

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Oh wow--this one is ssoooo easy. Needle by Hal Clement. There is a follow up book to it called Through the Eye of a Needle."

OMG; Thank you so very much. Glad it was easy for you lol -I've been thinking of, and wondering about, this book for so many years now. I hope it's still in print so that I can get a copy. Thanks, too, for the info about its sequel, which I will also seek out. Cheers and thanks again.